Electric vehicle charging system and method

ABSTRACT

A charging station includes an alternating current (AC) electrical power input and at least one direct current (DC) electrical power module coupled to the AC electrical power input. The charging station also includes at least one station output having a vehicle DC electrical power output, a communications output, and a dispenser DC electrical power output, the dispenser DC electrical power output being configured to be coupled to at least one dispenser. The charging station further includes a communications hub including at least one communications network connection, the communications hub being configured to receive information relating to an amount of DC electrical power to be delivered to a particular dispenser coupled to the charging station. Further still, the charging station includes a master controller configured to receive the information from the communications hub relating to the amount of DC electrical power to be delivered to the particular dispenser coupled to the charging station and provide a control signal to one of the at least one DC electrical power modules, the control signal being based on the information and being configured to control the amount of DC electrical power sent through one of the at least one DC electrical power modules.

INTRODUCTION

The present disclosure relates to charging of electrical vehicles. Thestatements in this section merely provide background information relatedto the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

With widespread use of electric vehicles comes greater need for chargingresources and standardization. Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE)is one standard used for vehicle charging equipment. A standard EVSEpower cabinet is limited in the number of dispensers it can connect to.Limitations can include the number of power modules in the cabinet, therequired power output of the dispensers, or the power cabinet size.

Because of the lack of dispensers for a each power cabinet, the requiredsize of each power cabinet, and the space needed for supply lineconduits running to each cabinet, it is challenging to provide a largenumber of dispensers in a parking area or a parking structure where manyvehicles may be simultaneously present. Further, it is also challengingto provide a large number of dispensers to a fleet of electric vehiclesthat may all require charging during off hours (for example, overnight).

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various disclosed embodiments include illustrative charging systems,electrical dispensers, dispenser chains, methods of charging a vehicle,and methods of providing charging power to a vehicle.

In an illustrative embodiment, a charging system includes a powercabinet having at least one direct current (DC) power module. Thecharging system also includes at least one dispenser chain, eachdispenser chain being electrically couplable to a respective DC powermodule. Each dispenser chain includes dispensers that are electricallycouplable with each other in series and that are configured to dispenseelectrical power, each of the dispensers being controllable such thatelectrical power is dispensable by only one dispenser in its dispenserchain at a time.

In another illustrative embodiment, a charging system includes anelectric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) charging station including: analternating current (AC) power input, at least one direct current (DC)power module coupled to the AC power input, a master controller; acommunications hub, at least one output having a DC vehicle poweroutput, a communications output, and a DC dispenser power output. Thesystem also includes at least one dispenser chain. Each dispenser chainmay be electrically couplable to a respective DC power module, eachdispenser chain including dispensers that are electrically couplablewith each other in series and that are configured to dispense electricalpower, each of the dispensers being controllable such that electricalpower is dispensable by only one dispenser in its dispenser chain at atime, each of the dispensers including a controller, a power outlet, anda switch controlled by the controller, the controller and switch beingconfigured to determine which of the dispensers in the dispenser chainare configured to provide power to the respective power outlet.

In another illustrative embodiment, a method of charging a vehicleincludes receiving alternating current (AC) electrical power by anelectric vehicle charging station. The method also includes convertingAC electrical power to direct current (DC) electrical power by thecharging station and outputting at least a portion of the DC electricalpower; Further, the method includes receiving the at least a portion ofthe DC electrical power by a chain of dispensers and outputting the atleast a portion of the DC electrical power from only one of thedispensers in the chain of dispensers.

In an illustrative embodiment, a charging station includes analternating current (AC) electrical power input and at least one directcurrent (DC) electrical power module coupled to the AC electrical powerinput. The charging station also includes at least one station outputhaving a vehicle DC electrical power output, a communications output,and a dispenser DC electrical power output, the dispenser DC electricalpower output being configured to be coupled to at least one dispenser.The charging station further includes a communications hub including atleast one communications network connection, the communications hubbeing configured to receive information relating to an amount of DCelectrical power to be delivered to a particular dispenser coupled tothe charging station. Further still, the charging station includes amaster controller configured to receive the information from thecommunications hub relating to the amount of DC electrical power to bedelivered to the particular dispenser coupled to the charging stationand provide a control signal to one of the at least one DC electricalpower modules, the control signal being based on the information andbeing configured to control the amount of DC electrical power sentthrough one of the at least one DC electrical power modules.

In another illustrative embodiment, a charging station includes analternating current (AC) power input and at least one direct current(DC) power module coupled to the AC power input. The charging stationalso includes at least one station output having a DC vehicle poweroutput, a communications output and a DC dispenser power output, the DCdispenser power output being configured to be coupled to a dispenserchain made up more than one dispenser. The charging station furtherincludes a communications hub including at least one communicationsnetwork connection, the communications hub being configured to receiveinformation relating to an amount of electrical power to be delivered toa particular dispenser of the dispenser chain coupled to the chargingstation. Further still, the charging station includes a mastercontroller configured to receive the information from the communicationshub relating to the amount of DC electrical power to be delivered to theparticular dispenser of the dispenser chain coupled to the chargingstation and being configured to provide a control signal to one of theplurality of DC power modules, the control signal based on theinformation and the control signal controlling the amount of DCelectrical power sent through one of the plurality of DC power modules.

In another illustrative embodiment, a method of charging a vehicleincludes receiving alternating current (AC) electrical power by anelectric vehicle charging station and converting the AC electrical powerto DC electrical power by a DC power module. The method also includesreceiving information by a communication hub relating to an amount of DCelectrical power to be delivered to a particular dispenser of a chain ofmore than one dispenser and sending the information to a mastercontroller. The method further includes sending, by the mastercontroller, a control signal to the DC power module to output powerbased on the information and sending, by the master controller, acontrol signal to the chain of more than one dispenser to output powerto the particular dispenser of the chain of more than one dispenser.Further still, the method includes outputting at least a portion of theDC electrical power to the particular dispenser of the chain of morethan one dispenser.

In an illustrative embodiment, a charging dispenser includes a directcurrent (DC) electrical power input, a DC electrical power pass throughoutput, and a DC electrical power charging output. The chargingdispenser also includes a switching unit coupled to the DC electricalpower input, the DC electrical power pass through output, and the DCelectrical power charging output. Further, the charging dispenserincludes a controller configured to provide control signals to theswitching unit, the switching unit being configured, responsive to thecontrol signals, to selectively electrically disconnect the DCelectrical power input from the DC electrical power pass through outputand electrically connect the DC electrical power input to the DCelectrical power charging output of the charging dispenser and toselectively electrically connect the DC electrical power input to the DCelectrical power pass through output and electrically disconnect the DCelectrical power input from the DC electrical power charging output ofthe charging dispenser.

In another illustrative embodiment, a charging dispenser includes adispenser input including a direct current (DC) electrical power input,a control signal input, and a controller power input. The chargingdispenser also includes a DC electrical power pass through power outputand a dispenser DC electrical power output. Further, the chargingdispenser includes a switching unit coupled to the (DC) power input, theDC electrical power pass through output, and the dispenser DC electricalpower output. Further still, the charging dispenser includes acontroller coupled to the control signal input and coupled to thecontroller power input, the controller configured to receive controlsignals from the control signal input from a master controller of acharging power cabinet. The dispenser DC electrical power output isconfigured to connect with a DC electrical power input of anothercharging dispenser.

In another illustrative embodiment, a method of providing charging powerto a vehicle includes receiving, by a controller, control signals from amaster controller of a charging power cabinet and supplying directcurrent (DC) electrical power to a DC electrical power input of acharging dispenser. The method also includes responsive to the controlsignals, electrically disconnecting the DC electrical power input of thecharging dispenser from a DC electrical power pass through output of thecharging dispenser and responsive to the control signals, electricallyconnecting the DC electrical power input of the charging dispenser to aDC electrical power charging output of the charging dispenser andproviding DC electrical power to the vehicle through the DC electricalpower charging output.

In an illustrative embodiment, a charging system includes a plurality ofpower charging cabinets, each power charging cabinet being configuredwith a plurality of electrical power outputs. The charging system alsoincludes at least one power dispenser chain coupled to at least one ofthe plurality of electrical power outputs, each of the power dispenserchains having more than one addressable power dispenser electricallycoupled thereto and each of the power dispensers being configured to beaddressed based on a vehicle identifier of a vehicle coupled to anaddressed power dispenser, each of the power dispensers also having acontroller configured to control electrical power delivery to adestination chosen from a charging power output of the power dispenserand to another power dispenser in the power dispenser chain. Thecharging system further includes a central control system configured tocommunicate with controllers of the power dispensers of the at least onepower dispenser chain.

In another illustrative embodiment, a charging system includes aplurality of power charging cabinet, each power charging cabinetconfigured with a plurality of electrical power outputs. The chargingsystem also includes a power dispenser chain coupled to one of theplurality of power outputs, the power dispenser chain having at least afirst power dispenser and a second power dispenser each of the powerdispensers configured to be addressed based on a vehicle identifier of avehicle coupled to the first power dispenser or the second powerdispenser, the first power dispenser coupled to the second powerdispenser, the first power dispenser receiving power from the electricalpower output of the power charging cabinet and the second powerdispenser selectively receiving power from the first power dispenserbased on the state of a first switching unit associated with the firstpower dispenser. Further, the charging system includes a central controlsystem communicating with a first controller of the first powerdispenser and with a second controller of the second power dispenser.

In another illustrative embodiment, a method of providing charging powerto a vehicle includes receiving, by a first controller of a first powerdispenser and a second controller of a second power dispenser, controlsignals from a master controller a first control signal to charge afirst vehicle coupled to a first power dispenser DC electrical poweroutput of a first power dispenser and supplying power to a directcurrent (DC) electrical power input of the first power dispenser.Responsive to the control signals, the method includes opening a switchfrom the DC electrical power input of the first power dispenser to apass-through DC electrical power output of the first power dispenser.Responsive to the control signals, the method also includes closing aswitch from the DC electrical power input of the first power dispenserto a first dispenser DC electrical power output. Further, the methodincludes providing DC electrical power to the vehicle through the firstdispenser DC electrical power output.

In an illustrative embodiment, a system includes a computer processorconfigured to receive a vehicle identifier and a charging powerdispenser identifier from a vehicle coupled to a specific charging powerdispenser of a charging power dispenser chain. The system also includesa control program being configured to run on the computer processor, thecontrol program being configured to determine a time to deliver power tothe vehicle and an amount of power to deliver to the vehicle, thecontrol program being further configured to send to a communication hubof a power cabinet electrically coupled to the charging power dispenserchain the time to deliver power to the vehicle, the amount of power todeliver to the vehicle, the vehicle identifier, and the charging powerdispenser identifier.

In another illustrative embodiment, a system includes a system. Thesystem includes a computer processor configured to receive a vehicleidentifier and a charging power dispenser identifier from a vehiclecoupled to a specific charging power dispenser of a charging powerdispenser chain, the computer processor being configured to communicatewith a communication hub of a power cabinet. The system also includes acontrol program being configured to run on the computer processor, thecontrol program being configured to determine a time to deliverelectrical power to the vehicle and an amount of electrical power todeliver to the vehicle, the control program being further configured tosend to the communication hub the time to deliver electrical power tothe vehicle, the amount of time to deliver electrical power to thevehicle, the vehicle identifier, and the charging power dispenseridentifier.

In another illustrative embodiment, a vehicle includes a method. Themethod includes receiving, by a computer processor, a vehicle identifierand a charging power dispenser identifier indicating that a specificvehicle is coupled to a specific charging power dispenser of a chargingpower dispenser chain. The method also includes determining, by thecomputer processor, a time to deliver electrical power to the vehicleand an amount of electrical power to deliver to the vehicle; and sendingthe time to deliver electrical power to the vehicle, the amount ofelectrical power to deliver or the amount of time to deliver electricpower to the vehicle, the vehicle identifier, and the charging powerdispenser identifier, to a communication hub of a power cabinet coupledto the charging power dispenser chain.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments,and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments are illustrated in referenced figures of thedrawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosedherein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative power cabinet coupled toelectrical power dispenser chains.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electrical powerdispenser of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram in partial schematic form of an illustrativedispenser chain arrangement.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram in partial schematic form of an illustrativevehicle charging system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an illustrative method of charging a vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of another illustrative method of charging avehicle.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an illustrative method of providing chargingpower to a vehicle.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of another illustrative method of providingcharging power to a vehicle.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of another illustrative method of providingcharging power to a vehicle.

FIGS. 9-16 are flowcharts of illustrative details of the method of FIG.8.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings generally indicate likeelements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented here.

Various disclosed embodiments include illustrative charging systems,electrical dispensers, dispenser chains, methods of charging a vehicle,and methods of providing charging power to a vehicle.

It will be appreciated that various disclosed charging systems,equipment, and methods may be suited for charging large numbers ofvehicles such as but not limited to fleet vehicles. For example, it maybe beneficial to have a fleet of delivery trucks that all charge duringovernight hours, to be deployed during the day for deliveries. In such acase the disclosed systems provide for reducing the required number ofcharging power cabinets thereby saving both cost and space within therefueling (recharging) structure. Similarly, such systems may be appliedin parking garages where people work or at entertainment or shoppingvenues where a large number of vehicles may need charging during aperiod that the vehicles are not being used.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an illustrative charging system 100 isdepicted. The charging system 100 includes a power cabinet 110 having amaster controller 120 that is coupled to a communications hub 130. Atleast one direct current (DC) power module 140 converts alternatingcurrent (AC) electrical power from an AC electrical power input 144which passes through a main breaker 146 before being sent to powermodules 140 and a dispenser power module 148 which provides workingpower to the dispenser electronics. Typically, an Electric VehicleService Equipment (EVSE) power cabinet includes up to five (5) DC powermodules 140. Each power module 140 is coupled to a single electric powerdispenser 160 for providing electrical power to a single vehicle. Themaster controller 120 is configured to control the power output of eachof the DC power modules 140. The power cabinet 110 may be but is notlimited to an EVSE power cabinet.

A power cabinet that uses isolated power modules that combine to achievepeak power outputs in excess of 300 kW has the capability to charge over20 vehicles in an overnight dwell scenario. While currently-known powercabinets cannot connect with more than 5 dispensers, thereby leavingunused capacity that reduces charging site economics, in variousembodiments, illustrative hardware and software aspects of the dispenser160 can help allow more dispensers 160 to connect to the power cabinet110 at a power cabinet output 150. The dispenser 160 may be configuredto connect to the power cabinet 110 in a normal manner, but alsoincludes a mechanism to pass the power and communication to anotherdispenser (for example, from Dispenser 1A to Dispenser 1B as depicted inFIG. 1). The dispenser 160 can thus act as a pass-through connection foradditional dispensers back to the power cabinet 110.

Given that the illustrative power cabinet 110 as shown has five (5)output conduits 150, 151, 152, 153, and 154, each of those five (5)output conduits, which typically each connect to a single dispenser, areeach connected to a chain of dispensers 160 (for example 1A, 1B, 1C).For each dispenser chain, such as dispenser chain 1, only one dispenser160 can charge a vehicle at a time. However, the chain, with addedelectronic control, allows for many vehicles to be plugged in at the endof a shift and the power cabinet 110 master control 120 cycles chargingthrough the dispensers 160 in the chain 1.

It will be appreciated that each dispenser chain is not limited to three(3) dispensers 160 as depicted in FIG. 1. Rather, any number ofdispensers 160 may be used on the dispenser chain subject to DC voltagedrop and other electrical, physical, and operational limitations whichcan help to determine optimum number of dispensers 160 in a chain forthe application.

In various embodiments, the power cabinet 110 may be connected to one ormore dispenser chains by a conduit such as the conduit 150 that connectsthe Dispenser Chain 1 with the DC power module 140. Each dispenser chainincludes the dispensers 160 that are electrically couplable with eachother in series and that are configured to dispense electrical power.Each of the dispensers are separately controllable such that electricalpower is dispensable by only one dispenser 160 in its dispenser chain ata time.

Referring now to FIG. 1A, an illustrative single dispenser 160 of thedispenser chain 1 of FIG. 1 is depicted. The dispenser 160 includes aconduit input 162, a controller 164, a conduit output 165, a powersupply 166, an electrical power outlet 167, and a switching unit 169.The switching unit 169 includes switches 169A, 169B, 169C, and 169D. Theswitching unit 169 may be controlled by the controller 164. Thecontroller 164 and the switching unit 169 are configured to determinewhich of the dispensers 160 in the dispenser chain are configured toprovide power to the respective power outlet 167. For example,controller 164 may command switches 169C and 169D to close and switches169A and 169B to open. In this condition, electrical power flows to theelectrical power outlet 167. Alternatively, the controller 164 maycommand switches 169C and 169D to open and switches 169A and 169B toclose. In this condition, Dispenser 1A simply acts as a power passthrough and electrical power is passed on to the next dispenser 160 inthe dispenser chain Dispenser 1B.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in various embodiments the master controller140 may be configured to deliver control signals to the controllers 164of the dispensers 160 of the dispenser chain and thereby control thepower output to each of the dispensers. The communications hub 130 maybe configured to provide the controllers 164 with signals from themaster controller 164. The communications hub 130 may also be configuredwith a communications network connection which may be wired or wireless.Each of the dispensers 160 in the dispenser chain may be individuallyaddressed by the communications hub 130. Each of the dispensers 160 alsohave dispenser identifiers associated therewith to facilitatecommunications between the dispenser controller 164 and thecommunications hub 130.

Through the communications network, the communications hub 130 may beconnected to and communicate with a scheduling server. The schedulingserver may be configured to provide information to the communicationshub related to scheduling of charging vehicles coupled to the dispensers160. For example, referring now to FIG. 2 a charging system 200 isdepicted. The charging system 200 includes a power cabinet 210. Thepower cabinet 210 is electrically coupled to two dispenser chains—inthis example, dispenser chain 220 and dispenser chain 230. In theexample depicted, each of the two dispenser chains 220 and 230 has five(5) dispensers on each chain. The dispenser chain 220 has dispensers 1A,1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E, and the The dispenser chain 230 has dispensers 2A,2B, 2C, 2D, and 2E. The dispenser chain 220, for example, receives powerthrough power cabinet output 260. Dispensers in the chain areelectrically coupled to each other by a connecting power conduit 250,which is shown connecting dispenser 1B and 1C. Electric vehicles V1, V2,V3, V7, and V9 are electrically coupled to various dispensers in thedispenser chains 220 and 230.

In various embodiments, a scheduling server receives a vehicleidentifier and a dispenser identifier so that it knows that the vehicleV1 280 is connected to the Dispenser 1C. The scheduling serverdetermines the charging requirements for the vehicle V1 280, as well asthe other vehicles coupled to the dispenser chains, and commandsdelivery of power to the vehicle V1 280 at a specified time. Further,the scheduling server may be used to determine an amount of power todeliver to the vehicle V1 280 or a time duration to deliver power to thevehicle V1 280.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an illustrative charging system 300 isdepicted. In various embodiments the charging system 300 includes thepower cabinet 110 that is coupled to Dispenser Chain 1 having dispensers160. In the state depicted two vehicles, vehicle V5 360 and vehicle V7370, are electrically connected to dispensers 1A and 1B respectively viaplugs 167. The communications hub of the power cabinet 110 may include aradio frequency antenna 132. The antenna 132 may be configured to sendand receive via various communication protocols including but notlimited to WiFi, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and the like. Inthe example depicted, vehicle V5 includes a BLE transceiver 364 forcommunicating, with the communications hub, a vehicle identifier and anyother information. Further, the communications hub of the power cabinet110 may also communicate over a WiFi link 312 with a WiFi access point310 that, in turn, communicates with one or more computer processors orcomputer servers 330, 340, and 350 over a communications network 220such as but not limited to the Internet. In various embodiments theServer 1 330 may be, but is not limited to, a scheduling server. TheServer 2 340 may be, but is not limited to, a diagnostics server and theServer 3 350 may be, but is not limited to, a billing server. In variousembodiments, the diagnostics Server 2 340 may be configured to provideinformation to the communications hub related to diagnostics of any ofthe DC power modules, diagnostics of the vehicles (including but notlimited to battery diagnostics), and diagnostics of the dispensers. Invarious embodiments, the billing Server 3 350 may be configured toprovide information to the communications hub related to billing forpower provided to vehicles from the dispensers. For example, the billingServer 3 350 may create an electronic transaction for electrical powerreceived by the vehicle V5 360 through Dispenser 1A.

In embodiments where the Server 1 330 is configured as a schedulingserver, the scheduling server may be configured to schedule charging ofvehicles coupled to dispenser chains of a power cabinet such asDispenser Chain 1 coupled to the power cabinet 110. For example, withmultiple vehicles coupled to Dispenser Chain 1, such as vehicle V5 andV7, as depicted, the scheduling server may be configured in any of avariety of ways to schedule a time to deliver electrical power to eachof the vehicles at individual times and for individual lengths of timesaccording to various parameters. It should be noted that each ofvehicles V5 and V7 will only receive power at separate times because thedispenser chain is configured with software and hardware allowing onlyone vehicle, on each dispenser chain, to receive power at a time. Thescheduling server may determine, for example, that during the next dayvehicle V5 will only require 80% of it's battery capacity and thevehicle needs to leave in 12 hours. The scheduling server alsodetermines that it will take 4 hours to provide the needed charge. Thisand other information related to scheduling may come from the vehicleitself or it may be provided from an outside source that schedulesvehicles, for instance in the case of a fleet of vehicles (e.g. deliveryvehicles in a fleet of delivery vehicles, buses in a fleet of buses,etc.). The scheduling server may also have information related toscheduling that says vehicle V7 needs 100% battery capacity and needs toleave in 8 hours and that it will take 6 hours to charge it. In thiscase, the scheduling server will provide charge to vehicle V7 onDispenser 1B until fully charged and then subsequently charge vehicle V5on Dispenser 1A until it receives the 80% charge as needed. Thisscheduling scenario is provided for example only and many otherscenarios may be envisioned. Also, other parameters may be used todetermine the optimal charging schedule not limited to those used inthis example.

In embodiments where the Server 2 340 is configured as a diagnosticsserver, the diagnostics server may be configured to receive and providea number of diagnostics signals and diagnostics information. Forexample, diagnostics information or diagnostics signals may be receivedfrom vehicles coupled to dispensers in the dispenser chain—for example,vehicles V5 and V7 on Dispenser Chain 1. The diagnostics information orinformation related to diagnostics may include but is not limited tobattery faults, vehicle maintenance information, reduction in maximumbattery condition, other detectable repair needs for the vehicle, andthe like. This diagnostics information provides information as to thehealth of the vehicle or the health of the power cabinet, for example.The diagnostic health may be indicated in any of a variety of waysincluding simple parameters of whether specific equipment is operationalor not or may be more specific as to what problems may be occurring withthe equipment. The diagnostics server may also receive diagnosticsinformation and diagnostics signals from the power cabinet 110 and fromthe power dispensers. For example, these diagnostics signals andinformation may indicate that the power modules of the power cabinet 110may have faults or the dispensers may have faults. In these cases, thecommunications hub may relay that information to vehicles, such as, forexample, that specific dispensers should be avoided. Also, suchdiagnostics information can be used by the scheduling server so thatvehicles may be scheduled to avoid specific dispensers or for fleets ofvehicles to schedule specific vehicles out of service. This diagnosticsinformation and scenarios are provided for example only and varyinginformation and scenarios may be envisioned.

Referring again to FIG. 3, in various embodiments a system for chargingvehicles 300 includes the Server 1 330 which may be a computer having acomputer processor that is configured to receive a vehicle identifierand a charging power dispenser identifier from a vehicle coupled to aspecific charging power dispenser of a charging power dispenser chain.For example, Server 1 350 may receive a vehicle identifier from vehicleV7 and dispenser identifier corresponding to Dispenser 1B. A controlprogram may be configured to run on the computer processor of Server 1330. The control program may be configured to determine a time todeliver power to the vehicle and an amount of power to deliver to thevehicle. The control program may further be configured to send to thecommunications hub of the power cabinet 110, which is electricallycoupled to the charging power dispenser chain, the time to deliver powerto the vehicle, the amount of power to deliver to the vehicle, thevehicle identifier, and the charging power dispenser identifier.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the charging station 110 may include thealternating current (AC) electrical power input 144 and at least onedirect current (DC) electrical power module 140 coupled to the ACelectrical power input 144. The at least one station output through theoutput conduit 150 may include a vehicle DC electrical power output, acommunications output, and a dispenser DC electrical power output 142,and the dispenser DC electrical power output may be configured to becoupled to at least one dispenser. The charging station 110 furtherincludes a communications hub 130 with at least one communicationsnetwork connection, the communications hub 130 being configured toreceive information relating to an amount of DC electrical power to bedelivered to a particular dispenser coupled to the charging station 110.Further still, charging station 110 may include a master controller 120configured to receive the information from the communications hub 130relating to the amount of DC electrical power to be delivered to theparticular dispenser 160 coupled to the charging station 110 and providea control signal to one of the at least one DC electrical power modules.The control signal may be based on the information relating to theamount of DC electrical power to be delivered to the particulardispenser 160 and may be configured to control the amount of DCelectrical power sent through one of the at least one DC electricalpower modules. In various embodiments, the master controller 120 may beconfigured to provide a control signal, through the communicationsoutput, to more than one dispenser controllers configured to control thepower output of each of the dispensers.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that at least a portion of thedevices and/or processes described herein can be integrated into a dataprocessing system. Those having skill in the art will recognize that adata processing system generally includes one or more of a system unithousing, a video display device, memory such as volatile or non-volatilememory, processors such as microprocessors or digital signal processors,computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphicaluser interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interactiondevices (e.g., a touch pad, a touch screen, an antenna, etc.), and/orcontrol systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g.,feedback for sensing position and/or velocity; control motors for movingand/or adjusting components and/or quantities). A data processing systemmay be implemented utilizing suitable commercially available components,such as those typically found in data computing/communication and/ornetwork computing/communication systems.

The term module, as used in the foregoing/following disclosure, mayrefer to a collection of one or more components that are arranged in aparticular manner, or a collection of one or more general-purposecomponents that may be configured to operate in a particular manner atone or more particular points in time, and/or also configured to operatein one or more further manners at one or more further times. Forexample, the same hardware, or same portions of hardware, may beconfigured/reconfigured in sequential/parallel time(s) as a first typeof module (e.g., at a first time), as a second type of module (e.g., ata second time, which may in some instances coincide with, overlap, orfollow a first time), and/or as a third type of module (e.g., at a thirdtime which may, in some instances, coincide with, overlap, or follow afirst time and/or a second time), etc. Reconfigurable and/orcontrollable components (e.g., general purpose processors, digitalsignal processors, field programmable gate arrays, etc.) are capable ofbeing configured as a first module that has a first purpose, then asecond module that has a second purpose and then, a third module thathas a third purpose, and so on. The transition of a reconfigurableand/or controllable component may occur in as little as a fewnanoseconds, or may occur over a period of minutes, hours, or days.

In some such examples, at the time the component is configured to carryout the second purpose, the component may no longer be capable ofcarrying out that first purpose until it is reconfigured. A componentmay switch between configurations as different modules in as little as afew nanoseconds. A component may reconfigure on-the-fly, e.g., thereconfiguration of a component from a first module into a second modulemay occur just as the second module is needed. A component mayreconfigure in stages, e.g., portions of a first module that are nolonger needed may reconfigure into the second module even before thefirst module has finished its operation. Such reconfigurations may occurautomatically, or may occur through prompting by an external source,whether that source is another component, an instruction, a signal, acondition, an external stimulus, or similar.

For example, a central processing unit of a personal computer may, atvarious times, operate as a module for displaying graphics on a screen,a module for writing data to a storage medium, a module for receivinguser input, and a module for multiplying two large prime numbers, byconfiguring its logical gates in accordance with its instructions. Suchreconfiguration may be invisible to the naked eye, and in someembodiments may include activation, deactivation, and/or re-routing ofvarious portions of the component, e.g., switches, logic gates, inputs,and/or outputs. Thus, in the examples found in the foregoing/followingdisclosure, if an example includes or recites multiple modules, theexample includes the possibility that the same hardware may implementmore than one of the recited modules, either contemporaneously or atdiscrete times or timings. The implementation of multiple modules,whether using more components, fewer components, or the same number ofcomponents as the number of modules, is merely an implementation choiceand does not generally affect the operation of the modules themselves.Accordingly, it should be understood that any recitation of multiplediscrete modules in this disclosure includes implementations of thosemodules as any number of underlying components, including, but notlimited to, a single component that reconfigures itself over time tocarry out the functions of multiple modules, and/or multiple componentsthat similarly reconfigure, and/or special purpose reconfigurablecomponents.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an illustrative method 400 of charging avehicle is depicted. The method 400 starts at a block 405. At a block410 the method 400 includes receiving alternating current (AC)electrical power by an electric vehicle charging station. At a block420, the method 400 includes converting AC electrical power to directcurrent (DC) electrical power by the charging station. Further, at ablock 430 the method 400 includes outputting at least a portion of theDC electrical power from the charging station and at a block 440receiving the at least a portion of the DC electrical power by a chainof dispensers. Further still, at a block 450 the method 400 includesoutputting the at least a portion of the DC electrical power from onlyone of the dispensers in the chain of dispensers. The method 400 stopsat a block 455.

Following are a series of flowcharts depicting implementations. For easeof understanding, the flowcharts are organized such that the initialflowcharts present implementations via an example implementation andthereafter the following flowcharts present alternate implementationsand/or expansions of the initial flowchart(s) as either sub-componentoperations or additional component operations building on one or moreearlier-presented flowcharts. Those having skill in the art willappreciate that the style of presentation utilized herein (e.g.,beginning with a presentation of a flowchart(s) presenting an exampleimplementation and thereafter providing additions to and/or furtherdetails in subsequent flowcharts) generally allows for a rapid and easyunderstanding of the various process implementations. In addition, thoseskilled in the art will further appreciate that the style ofpresentation used herein also lends itself well to modular and/orobject-oriented program design paradigms.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an illustrative method 500 of charging avehicle is depicted. The method 500 starts at a block 505. At a block510 the method 500 includes receiving alternating current (AC)electrical power by an electric vehicle charging station. The method 500also includes at a block 520 receiving information by a communicationhub relating to an amount of DC electrical power to be delivered to aparticular dispenser of a chain of more than one dispenser and at ablock 530 sending the information to a master controller. At a block540, the master controller may send a control signal to the DC powermodule to output power based on the information. At a block 550 themaster controller may send a control signal to the chain of more thanone dispenser to output power to the particular dispenser of the chainof more than one dispenser. Further, the method 500 includes, at a block560 outputting at least a portion of the DC electrical power to theparticular dispenser of the chain of more than one dispenser. The method500 stops at a block 565.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an illustrative method 600 of providingcharging power to a vehicle is depicted. The method 600 starts at ablock 605. At a block 610 the method 600 includes receiving, by acontroller, control signals from a master controller of a charging powercabinet and at a block 620 supplying DC electrical power to a DCelectrical power input of a charging dispenser. At a block 630,responsive to the control signals, the method 600 includes electricallydisconnecting the DC electrical power input of the charging dispenserfrom a DC electrical power pass through output of the chargingdispenser. Further, at a block 640, responsive to the control signals,the method 600 includes electrically connecting the DC electrical powerinput of the charging dispenser to a DC electrical power charging outputof the charging dispenser. The method 600 further includes at a block650 providing DC electrical power to the vehicle through the DCelectrical power charging output. The method 600 stops at a block 655.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an illustrative method 700 of providingcharging power to a vehicle is depicted. The method 700 starts at ablock 705. At a block 710 the method 700 includes receiving, by a firstcontroller of a first power dispenser and a second controller of asecond power dispenser, control signals from a master controller a firstcontrol signal to charge a first vehicle coupled to a first powerdispenser DC electrical power output of a first power dispenser. Themethod 700 also includes at a block 720 supplying power to a directcurrent (DC) electrical power input of the first power dispenser and ata block 730 responsive to the control signals, opening a switch from theDC electrical power input of the first power dispenser to a pass throughDC electrical power output of the first power dispenser. Further, themethod 700 includes responsive to the control signals, at a block 740closing a switch from the DC electrical power input of the first powerdispenser to a first dispenser DC electrical power output. Further, themethod 700 includes at a block 750 providing DC electrical power to thevehicle through the first dispenser DC electrical power output. Themethod 700 stops at a block 755.

Referring now to FIG. 8, an illustrative method 800 of providingcharging power to a vehicle is depicted. The method 800 starts at ablock 805. At a block 810 the method 800 includes receiving, by acomputer processor, a vehicle identifier and a charging power dispenseridentifier indicating that a specific vehicle is coupled to a specificcharging power dispenser of a charging power dispenser chain. The method800 also may include at a block 820 determining, by the computerprocessor, a time to deliver electrical power to the vehicle and anamount of electrical power to deliver to the vehicle. Further, themethod may include, at a block 830 sending the time to deliverelectrical power to the vehicle, the amount of electrical power todeliver or the amount of time to deliver electric power to the vehicle,the vehicle identifier, and the charging power dispenser identifier, toa communication hub of a power cabinet coupled to the charging powerdispenser chain. The method 800 stops at a block 835.

The method 800 may also include, at a block 811 computing, by ascheduling module, a schedule for charging the vehicle based on chargingrequirements of the specific vehicle and other vehicles coupled to thecharging power dispenser chain (see FIG. 9). Further, the method 800 mayalso include, at a block 812 computing, by a scheduling module, aschedule for charging the vehicle based on charging requirements of thevehicle during the next day (see FIG. 10). Further still, the method 800may include, at a block 813 computing, by a scheduling module, anoptimized schedule for charging the specific vehicle and other vehiclescoupled to the charging power dispenser chain (see FIG. 11). Yet furtherstill, the method 800 may include at a block 814 determining, by adiagnostics module, health of the vehicle (see FIG. 12). Yet stillfurther, the method 800 may include, at a block 815, determining, by adiagnostics module, health of the power cabinet (see FIG. 13). Yet stillfurther, the method 800 may include at a block 816 determining, by adiagnostics module, health of the at least one charging power dispenserchosen from the specific charging power dispenser and other chargingpower dispensers coupled to the charging power dispenser chain (see FIG.14). Yet still further, the method 800 includes at a block 817determining, by a billing module, an amount of electrical powerdelivered to the vehicle (see FIG. 15). Yet still further, the method800 may include, at a block 818 determining, by the billing module, anamount of power delivered to the vehicle and at a block 819 initiating,by the billing module, a transaction based on the amount of electricalpower delivered to the vehicle (see FIG. 16).

In some instances, one or more components may be referred to herein as“configured to,” “configured by,” “configurable to,” “operable/operativeto,” “adapted/adaptable,” “able to,” “conformable/conformed to,” etc.Those skilled in the art will recognize that such terms (for example“configured to”) generally encompass active-state components and/orinactive-state components and/or standby-state components, unlesscontext requires otherwise.

While particular aspects of the present subject matter described hereinhave been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the subject matter described hereinand its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are toencompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as arewithin the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (for example, bodiesof the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (forexample, the term “including” should be interpreted as “including butnot limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having atleast,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but isnot limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those withinthe art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation isintended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and inthe absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example,as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may containusage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” tointroduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should notbe construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by theindefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containingsuch introduced claim recitation to claims containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (for example, “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted tomean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the useof definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition,even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation isexplicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that suchrecitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recitednumber (for example, the bare recitation of “two recitations,” withoutother modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two ormore recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (for example, “a system having at leastone of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems thathave A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, Band C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “Aor B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A”or “B” or “A and B.”

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented,individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software(e.g., a high-level computer program serving as a hardwarespecification), firmware, or virtually any combination thereof, limitedto patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101. In an embodiment,several portions of the subject matter described herein may beimplemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), orother integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art willrecognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, inwhole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integratedcircuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or morecomputers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computersystems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors(e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors),as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, limited topatentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101, and that designing thecircuitry and/or writing the code for the software (e.g., a high-levelcomputer program serving as a hardware specification) and or firmwarewould be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light ofthis disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capableof being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, andthat an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described hereinapplies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium usedto actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearingmedium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable typemedium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), aDigital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and atransmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analogcommunication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wiredcommunications link, a wireless communication link (e.g., transmitter,receiver, transmission logic, reception logic, etc.), etc.).

With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art willappreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed inany order. Also, although various operational flows are presented in asequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may beperformed in other orders than those which are illustrated or may beperformed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may includeoverlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental,preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variantorderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like“responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives aregenerally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictatesotherwise.

While the disclosed subject matter has been described in terms ofillustrative embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in theart that various modifications can be made thereto without departingfrom the scope of the claimed subject matter as set forth in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A charging station, comprising: an alternatingcurrent (AC) electrical power input; at least one direct current (DC)electrical power module coupled to the AC electrical power input; atleast one station output having a vehicle DC electrical power output, acommunications output, and a dispenser DC electrical power output, thedispenser DC electrical power output being configured to be coupled toat least one dispenser; a communications hub including at least onecommunications network connection, the communications hub beingconfigured to receive information relating to an amount of DC electricalpower to be delivered to a particular dispenser coupled to the chargingstation; and a master controller configured to receive the informationfrom the communications hub relating to the amount of DC electricalpower to be delivered to the particular dispenser coupled to thecharging station and provide a control signal to one of the at least oneDC electrical power modules, the control signal being based on theinformation and being configured to control the amount of DC electricalpower sent through one of the at least one DC electrical power modules.2. The charging system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the pluralityof DC electrical power modules is configured to be coupled to adispenser chain that includes a plurality of dispensers.
 3. The chargingsystem of claim 2, wherein the master controller is configured toprovide a control signal, through the communications output, to morethan one dispenser controller configured to control power output to eachof the plurality of dispensers.
 4. The charging system of claim 2,wherein the communication hub is further configured to communicate witha scheduling server, the scheduling server being configured to provideinformation, to the communications hub, related to scheduling ofcharging vehicles coupled to the plurality of dispensers.
 5. Thecharging system of claim 1, wherein the communication hub is furtherconfigured to communicate with a diagnostics server, the diagnosticsserver being configured to provide information, to the communicationshub, related to diagnostics of the plurality of DC power modules.
 6. Thecharging system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of DCcontrol modules is configured to be coupled to a dispenser chain and thedispenser chain includes more than one dispenser, and wherein thecommunication hub is configured to communicate with a diagnosticsserver, the diagnostics server being configured to provide information,to the communications hub, related to diagnostics of a vehicle receivingpower from one of the plurality of dispensers.
 7. The charging system ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of DC control modules isconfigured to be coupled to a dispenser chain and the dispenser chainincludes more than one dispenser, and wherein the communication hub isconfigured to communicate with a billing server, the billing serverbeing configured to provide information, to the communications hub,related to billing for power provided to vehicles from the plurality ofdispensers.
 8. The charging system of claim 1, wherein the communicationhub is configured to communicate with vehicles over a wirelesscommunication link.
 9. The charging system of claim 1, wherein thecommunication hub is configured to communicate with vehicles over aBluetooth link.
 10. The charging system of claim 1, wherein at least oneof the plurality of DC control modules is configured to be coupled to adispenser chain and the dispenser chain includes more than onedispenser, and wherein each of the plurality of dispensers in the atleast one dispenser chain is configured to pass through for electricalpower when another dispenser in the dispenser chain is providingelectrical power to a vehicle.
 11. A charging station, comprising: analternating current (AC) power input; at least one direct current (DC)power module coupled to the AC power input; at least one station outputhaving a DC vehicle power output, a communications output and a DCdispenser power output, the DC dispenser power output being configuredto be coupled to a dispenser chain made up more than one dispenser; acommunications hub including at least one communications networkconnection, the communications hub being configured to receiveinformation relating to an amount of electrical power to be delivered toa particular dispenser of the dispenser chain coupled to the chargingstation; and a master controller configured to receive the informationfrom the communications hub relating to the amount of DC electricalpower to be delivered to the particular dispenser of the dispenser chaincoupled to the charging station and being configured to provide acontrol signal to one of the plurality of DC power modules, the controlsignal based on the information and the control signal controlling theamount of DC electrical power sent through one of the plurality of DCpower modules.
 12. The charging system of claim 11, wherein the mastercontroller is further configured to provide a control signal to morethan one dispenser controllers, through the communications output, themaster controller being configured to control power output to each ofthe plurality of dispensers of the at least one dispenser chain.
 13. Thecharging system of claim 11, wherein the communication hub is furtherconfigured to communicate with a scheduling server, the schedulingserver being configured to provide information, to the communicationshub, related to scheduling of charging vehicles coupled to the pluralityof dispensers.
 14. The charging system of claim 11, wherein thecommunication hub is further configured to communicate with adiagnostics server, the diagnostics server being configured to provideinformation, to the communications hub, related to diagnostics of the atleast one DC power module.
 15. The charging system of claim 11, whereinthe communication hub is further configured to communicate with adiagnostics server, the diagnostics server being configured to provideinformation, to the communications hub, related to diagnostics of avehicle receiving power from one of the more than one dispensers. 16.The charging system of claim 11, wherein the communication hub isfurther configured to communicate with a billing server, the billingserver being configured to provide information, to the communicationshub, related to billing for power provided to vehicles from theplurality of dispensers.
 17. The charging system of claim 11, whereinthe communication hub is configured to communicate with vehicles over awireless communication link.
 18. The charging system of claim 11,wherein the communication hub is configured to communicate with vehiclesover a Bluetooth link.
 19. The charging system of claim 11, wherein eachof the plurality of dispensers in the at least one dispenser chain isconfigured to pass through electrical power when another dispenser inthe dispenser chain is providing electrical power to a vehicle.
 20. Amethod of charging a vehicle, the method comprising: receivingalternating current (AC) electrical power by an electric vehiclecharging station; converting the AC electrical power to DC electricalpower by a DC power module; receiving information by a communication hubrelating to an amount of DC electrical power to be delivered to aparticular dispenser of a chain of more than one dispenser; sending theinformation to a master controller; sending, by the master controller, acontrol signal to the DC power module to output power based on theinformation; sending, by the master controller, a control signal to thechain of more than one dispenser to output power to the particulardispenser of the chain of more than one dispenser; and outputting atleast a portion of the DC electrical power to the particular dispenserof the chain of more than one dispenser.